Retirement
by RandomdudeNo123
Summary: What if the Purrgil's attack on the 7th fleet was actually an elaborate plan for Ezra and Thrawn to retire in peace? First time publishing fanfiction, feel free to criticize. Slight Sabezra.
1. Chapter 1

Customary Introductions: Heya. First time writing a fanfiction, then actually publishing it. Characters may be a bit OOC, but you could chalk it off to the exahustation getting to them. Feel free to criticize, I'm sure I need it. Probably a one-shot, but I might expand later to show the rest of the cast's reaction.

* * *

"Did you have to make it so dramatic?" The Grand Admiral questioned Ezra as he slumped into a chair. The Purrgil had dropped them off in the middle of nowhere with the wreck of several Star Destroyers. During the time, both men had been trapped in the Bridge up until the Purrgil had removed the blockade of tentacles that cut off the rest of the ship. After that, they had taken to waiting in Thrawn's chambers until they had readied the shuttles to drop off at the nearest island.

"We had to make it look convincing." Ezra shrugged and took a look around Thrawn's office. Several Imperial reports were strewn about the floor, along with some of the art pieces. While most of the art was damaged in the jump, some of the sturdier pieces managed to survive. Eyeing the mess with a street-child's eye, Ezra picked up what looked like a briefcase. The strange briefcase was patterned with symmetrical black and white squares all around its surface.

"Mind explaining this piece, oh fabled art critic?" The Lothalian grinned cheekily.

Thrawn raised an eyebrow. "And why the sudden interest in the arts? Is it because of your Mandalorian... Friend? Her art does not take much thought to understand, if you were seeking to impress her in that way."

"Says the Admiral who keeps this abstract piece in his quarters." Ezra neatly dodged the topic. If he thought about them for too long, he tended to get rather... morose, as Thrawn had put it.

Smirking, Thrawn motioned to a latch on the top of the briefcase. Ezra fiddled with it for a few moments, before the briefcase opened and several carvings fell to the floor. "That is because it is not an art piece. It is a board game known to its creators as chess. Would you like to play?"

Ezra quickly grabbed the chess pieces and the instruction booklet, setting them on the board as per the manual stated. It was strange, playing a board game with the greatest Mastermind of the Empire, especially considering the fact that Ezra himself was a rebel. How they became friends, none but them knew.

"So..." Ezra moved his first piece while reading the instruction manual. "What finally convinced you to retire?"

Thrawn smirked, then moved his own pawn forward. "The Empire is failing, Ezra. The high command is inefficient, the officers care more about favour with the emperor than doing well, and you yourself have seen the failures that are our Stormtroopers. I would rather prefer to leave the... galactic war and return in a time of peace. Some of my troops agree with me. Those who do not will rejoin the empire under Captain Pellaeon."

Moving a bishop into the fray, Ezra stared questioningly at Thrawn. "Wait... the Empire is failing? Does that mean that my Friends stand a chance?"

Thrawn nodded. "I believe that the Empire will not, or cannot, forsee the threat the Rebels pose up until the moment where it is too late to save themselves. As with your game. Checkmate."

"4 moves? Seriously?!"

Before Thrawn could explain just how Ezra had lost, a small beeping sound played on the Desk. He quickly flicked on a switch to reveal the hologram of an imperial officer. The Grand Admiral listened as the Officer rapidly rattled off statistics, losses, current state of repairs, and other things Ezra couldn't make out. Barring that, Ezra let his mind wander again.

"Bridger."

Snapping to attention, Ezra stood up as Thrawn began to pack up the board game in an actual suitcase, along with a few pieces of art and supplies.

"A few imperial shuttles are ready to leave for the Island of Ahch-to. Are you ready for our... vacation?" Thrawn looked slightly amused at the idea of taking a vacation, but pleased nonetheless.

Ezra shrugged again, wishing there was a way he could have packed some clothes of his own while escaping. At least the absconding troops had enough sense to pack casual clothes for their stay. Maybe Ezra could borrow some from them.

"One last question, Bridger. Your Mandalorian friend, Sabine. Will she be angry at the thought of us taking a vacation?"

"Eh, I'm sure she won't be THAT mad."

* * *

Sabine WAS that mad. Years and years of hunting down the Admiral so he could tell them where Ezra was, and it turns out he was on one of the cosiest islands in the entire galaxy?! Growling to herself, she crossed her arms and sulked as Ahsoka talked to the landing guards. It was a good thing Ahsoka was here; else she would have just destroyed the whole island from orbit and gone off to look for Ezra without interrogating the Admiral. Standing on the crude landing pad, the teenager began tapping her foot impatiently when Ahsoka motioned to her.

"He's in the stone hut over there." Ahsoka pointed to a speck on the top of some stairs hewn from the rocks. " And remember, no killing him. He's one of the most brilliant tactical minds in the galaxy, and he knows all the Empire's secrets."  
"Fine." Sabine rolled her eyes. " I'm only here to hear what he has to say about where Ezra is, anyways."

The island itself was beautiful. The glimmering sea and green grass perfectly combined to reflect the solitude of their surroundings. The music of the wind sung in her ears, and Ahsoka could smell the mountain and sea airs combining.

"A perfect place to meditate." Ahsoka observed. Sabine didn't seem to hear her. Scarcely had they reached the hut before Sabine had charged forward, kicked the door down, and aimed her blasters at Thrawn and the Imperial cadet he was with.

"Ah, Sabine Wren. I assume Lady Tano is with you?" The imperial cadet had shakily put up his hands, then ducked out while Sabine closed in on Thrawn. Ahsoka had just arrived and was calmly waiting near the threshold of the room.

"Where. Is. Ezra?"

"Would you like to hear my explanation first, before you make any... rash decisions?" Thrawn motioned to the blasters Sabine had pointed at him.

"Yes." Ahsoka stepped into the room before Sabine could say anything. Signalling to Sabine to calm down, Ahsoka quickly took the emptied seat before her. Sabine grumbled, and then took her own seat. Her blasters remained pointed on the Chiss.

Thrawn sighed, pouring himself a glass of green milk. This was going to be a long explanation.

 _A few minutes later..._

"Ezra lives on this Island. On a vacation." Sabine's eye was twitching. Thrawn nodded, then took a cautious sip out of his glass. "Which house, exactly?" Sabine had gotten a murderous look in her eyes, and she was fingering a thermal detonator. She had a smile on her face that could scare off a Rancor, as well as actually unnerve a Chiss. Thrawn fidgeted nervously, then pointed in the direction of a stone hut on the edge of a cliff. A few seconds later, Sabine had disappeared. Ahsoka sighed while pouring herself her own glass of milk. After Sabine had left earshot, Thrawn pulled out a communicator.

"Ezra. I recommend you sign your last will and testament now."

There was an audible gulp on the other end of the call. "She's here?"

An explosion rocked the call, but was not loud enough to drown out the scream of "BRRIIDDDGGGEEERRR" on the other end. Thrawn winced at the noise, while Ahsoka snickered.

"I do have a camera in his home, if you would like to watch the carnage." Thrawn placed a holopad on the table beside him, then offered a light snack to Ahsoka as they watched the poor Jedi duck behind a table. From off camera, several assorted paint bombs launched into the air, then exploded all around him. The rather poor quality recording still showed the panic in Ezra's face as Sabine walked into the room. Fury radiated from her stance, and her knuckles were clenched into fists. Too quickly for anyone to notice, Sabine had turned into a multi colored blur as she launched herself at her target.

"Interesting. Would you say that the girl had feelings towards Ezra?"

"Sort of. Why?"

"Her rage seems to be born out of worry." Sabine had pinned Ezra to the ground below her and seemed to be screaming as the latter was struggling for the narrow doorway.

"I can relate all too well." Ahsoka smiled sadly, recalling Anakin's anger whenever she had been in overly dangerous sitations. True, it hadn't usually ended in free for all rough-housing. Maybe it was more of a Mandalorian thing.

They both fell silent, listening to the sounds of screaming and Mandalorian curses from the hut. Sabine was angrily shaking Ezra by the shoulders, who had long ceased to struggle, accepting his fate.

"Certainly wasn't the romantic reunion I imagined for her." Ahsoka shook her head sadly.


	2. Chapter 2

So, not a One-shot. After this chapter, there's going to be one more, explaining how a certain Jedi master ended up on Ach-to. Sorry for the mushiness at the tail end of the chapter.

* * *

Ezra swore he could see the light. In particular, the sunlight shining in his eyes as Sabine sat on top of him and whistled a happy tune. Both his arms were crossed behind his head and handcuffed. Which store had been insane enough to give this force of nature handcuffs, Ezra never wanted to know. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the multicoloured havoc the paint bombs had inflicted upon his home. Ezra groaned inside. That was going to take years to clean, wasn't it? Sabine glanced to where Ezra was staring. Or more accurately, where he attempted to turn his head.

"Oh, don't worry. You won't need to clean that up." Sabine grinned evilly at Ezra's surprised face. "That's because you're going to be going home to Lothal to live with Hera and Me. In handcuffs and unconscious, if necessary." Sabine cracked her knuckles as a blue shadow crossed the doorway.

"Quite the predicament, is it not?" Thrawn allowed himself a small smirk as he entered the wreckage of what was once Ezra's home. Ezra composed himself for a few seconds to choose his next words very carefully. Yes, those words would work.

"Thrawn, you _kriffing_ sell-out!"

"To be fair, she did have a blaster aimed at my chest."

"You could have gone down with the ship!"

"The ship you kindly turned into a Purrgil souvenir?" Thrawn smirked again, knowing he'd won the arguement. Ezra glared at him, but he still couldn't move.

Sabine lazily got up, stretched her arms and twisted a bit, then pulled an exhausted Ezra up. "All right, as much as I'd love to hear you bicker, we have a Planet to be revisiting. And a Twi'lek to be facing." Sabine grinned evilly again.

"But what about Thrawn?"

Sabine gave Ezra the first non-evil or angry look she had ever made that day. "Are you kidding? Thrawn's staying nice and exiled here. I don't need him breaking you out of your glass cage in your Tower. Now-" and here, Sabine had returned to her cheerful murderer attitude "enough stalling. Ahsoka's warmed the Gauntlet up and we'll need to compose your epitaph when Hera finds out what you've been doing all this time." Ezra shivered. For all the abuse Sabine had put him through, it would be nothing compared to Hera. That Twi'lek had both a Mother's heart and a Mother's temper.

* * *

It was the fifth day since they had left Ach-to and they were closing in on Lothal. Normally, it would have only taken 2 days, but Sabine had insisted on stopping over on every colonized planet for "supplies". Ezra suspected that she was actually calling Hera ahead of time to tell her to salvage all the Imperial torture devices. Either way, Ezra had not been allowed to leave ship with Ahsoka guarding, so the only way he'd find out was to somehow defeat Ahsoka without a lightsaber. (His was still with Sabine. She had not returned it yet.)

"So, how's Hera...?" The three of them were now waiting in the living quarters, having another silently awkward dinner. None of them had even tried to start a conversation up until today.

Sabine paused for a moment, then a shadow fell over her face. "She's dying, Ezra. She wanted to see you one last time." Ezra froze.

Ahsoka looked confused for a moment, before elbowing Sabine in the ribs. "Ezra, close your mouth. She's not dying. She DOES, however, have a new boy in her life." Ahsoka quickly winked at Sabine, too quick for Ezra to notice.

"Oh, yeah. He's quite a looker, isn't he?" Sabine had quickly caught on to the joke, and was now rushing to think up misleading compliments for Hera's son.

"Those gorgeous green locks."

"Those expressive eyes."

"That roguish smile."

Both of the girls did a convincing swoon. Ezra was wide eyed now, and his mouth had fallen open again. His ration bar was now hovering close to his mouth, before he dropped it back on the table. "Bu- Bu- Has she forgotten Kanan so quickly?"

"Oh, probably not. She did say that he reminded her of Kanan." Ahsoka smiled infuriatingly. Sabine had to bite back giggles, and quickly excused herself to run to the bathroom. Ezra groaned to himself. So much had changed in the few years of his "retirement". Hera now had another boyfriend, Ahsoka was now wearing a whte cloak everywhere, heck, he wouldn't be surprised if Kallus and Zeb were living together. At least he could see them all again for a few moments. Before they killed him, anyways.

* * *

When the smoke cleared and the ramp lowered, the first thing Ezra noticed was Hera standing as close as she possibly could to the landing pad. Her eyes were puffy from crying, and she was holding a white hankerchief in her hand. The next thing he noticed was another blur rushing towards him. Bracing himself, Ezra suddenly found himself in an extremely tight bear hug. Preparing himself for a suplex, he waited. And waited. And waited. Realization slowly dawning upon him, Ezra put his arms back around Hera. For a long time, neither of them spoke. Eventually, Hera released herself, then looked Ezra straight in the eye, while grasping his shoulders.

"I don't care what you've done, or where you've been, or what Sabine keeps telling me. All that matters is that you're here now." Hera hugged him again. She was openly sobbing now, realizing the wondrous truth. Ezra hugged back tightly. He missed her. He missed them all, no matter how hardly some of them hit back.

"Ahem?" Ahsoka coughed quietly. She and Sabine had been quietly standing on the top of the ramp now, unable to disembark. Not that they seemed to mind, as both of them got slightly teary eyed. Hera quickly composed herself, then stood to the side to let the duo exit the ship. She was still sobbing quietly. Ezra was beginning to feel like Bantha dung for leaving so suddenly.

"I... I'm sorry. Let's go to the Ghost, shall we? I'll prepare us all some Caf." Hera, ever the motherly figure, quickly wiped away the last of her tears and started towards the Ghost. Sabine walked up to Ezra and put her hand on his shoulder while Ahsoka ran up to Hera. A peaceful silence filled the air as the two stood next to each to each other.

"I'm glad you're home, too. But-"Sabine pulled Ezra to face her "if you ever dump the rest of us here like that again, I'll make sure more than hearts will be breaking. Got it, Loth-rat?" Ezra nodded solemnly. "Good. Let's go home." Sabine smiled softly, then pulled Ezra towards the Ghost.

It was reaching sunset on Lothal, but the Ghost still echoed with laughs as Ezra caught up to what the rest of the crew had been doing while he was on the Island of Ach-to. Nearly all their supply of Caf had run out, but none of them seemed to mind. Ezra was home. Suddenly, Ezra realized he forgot to ask Hera a very important question.

"Hera, Ahsoka and Sabine said you had a... special boy come into your life? When can I meet him?" Ezra raised his eyebrow teasingly, expecting Hera to flush as she did with Kanan. Instead, Hera slammed her palm to her head.

"Oh, how could I forget? Jacen, Honey! There's someone here you have to meet!" Ezra briefly wondered how close Hera and her Boyfriend were when a wide-eyed child ran up to the room. Ezra stared in shock for a few moments before Sabine and Ahsoka cracked up into raucous laughter. Ignoring the reactions, Hera walked over to Jacen and knelt down.

"See that man over there? The one with the blue hair? He's Ezra." The boy's eyes went larger than Ezra's, then he quickly waddled behind his mother. Hera chuckled, then pulled him over.

"Jacen, this is Ezra, Apprentice to the force. Ezra, this is my son, Jacen. Shake hands, Jacen." Jacen shakily wriggled a shocked Ezra's hand. Sabine and Ahsoka were still laughing, though less loudly than before.

"Ha, Hah. Sorry, Ezra. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up." Sabine had managed to compose herself and wave at Jacen, who was still awestruck at Ezra. Soon enough, they returned to talking about the changes after Thrawn's retirement and the fall of the Empire. Ezra was especially interested at the stories of Luke, Jedi Knight. But eventually, the night turned dark and the crew had to sleep. Hera had ushered Jacen to bed and gave Ezra the bottom bunk. (Zeb had actually gone to live with Kallus. Ezra was not surprised.) She was just leaving the room when she paused in the middle of the doorway to say one last thing.

"Oh, and Ezra? Tommorow you're on Carbon scoring duties for the next few weeks." Hera grinned wickedly. "Just because I didn't attack you doesn't mean I won't get my revenge." Ezra sighed in defeat, smiled grimly, then went to bed.

He was home.


	3. Chapter 3

Heya. First off, thanks for the positive reviews! I'd be lying I said I didn't appreciate them. Now, updates will probably be slowing thanks to school starting (on July 2, or the day after I've posted this chapter), but I'll try to keep updating.

* * *

Luke Skywalker, Hero of the Alliance, was shocked. Possibly more shocked than when he had been electrocuted by the emperor. Definitely more shocked when he had been told that Leia was his sister. His brain had seemed to shut down, and what remained open chose to blankly take a seat on the nearest boulder. Behind him, several whispers floated through the Air.

"Oh, _kriff._ I think we finally broke him."

In front of him stood Mandalorian Bounty Hunter Ezra Bridger, who was less shocked, but still somewhat baffled by the reaction. Ezra glared over Luke's shoulder at the Rogue squadron, who were stifling giggles at the sight of their comatose commander. They were in a small cave out on the fields of Lothal, with the Squad camouflaging themselves in the tall grass and the two Jedi facing each other out in the mouth of the cave. Or they would be, if Luke hadn't frozen in utter confusion and shut down. Ezra wondered to himself how it came to this.

It all began when the first anniversary of the New Republic finally arrived. As a gesture of openness, the heroes of the Republic had decided to tour all the planets that had supported the Rebellion during its struggle against the Empire, ending with the Planet that started it all: Lothal. The Rogues had been sent ahead of time to greet the Populace when the _Millennium Falcon_ had (once again) broken down. During the short period where they were on the planet without Luke and Co., they had managed to visit Captain Syndulla and her crew. After realizing the Luke had no idea Ezra existed (all of them had broken out into identical evil grins), they decided to play a little prank on their commander.

The gist of it was that Wedge had been kidnapped by an evil Mandalorian Bounty Hunter (really Ezra in disguise), who had very suspiciously fled into a cave in the grasslands. After a short hunt and chase, the Mandalorian would drop several smoke bombs and run behind Luke. At which point, Ezra would ignite his lightsaber and unmask himself, maybe do a few cool Jedi tricks. It was brilliant, the men agreed among themselves. And as with all brilliant plans, it failed even as they began preparing.

Firstly, Sabine had told them, point blank, that there was no way she was letting them borrow her Jetpack and armor just to go play a prank. It had taken several hours of "bargaining" (really flattering her using Hondo's smooth talking lessons) to finally convince her to part with them for a day. Second, Ezra was... not the greatest Jetpack user. After several helmetless concussions (Ezra didn't want to damage Sabine's armor), they had settled for just using Force-empowered jumps while making whoosh noises with their mouths. Finally, as soon as the trio heard about the kidnapping, Han and Leia were ready to jump on the Falcon and murder the Mandalorian, life saving repairs be damned. It had taken Wedge going on a stealth mission to the couple to get them to calm down.

They had managed to predict Luke's reaction perfectly, Ezra gave them that.

The rogues, very cautiously, filed into the cave. Wes shook his hand a few times in front of Luke. Luke remained stunned.

"Yeah... we'd better get this guy back to Captain Syndulla's house. That's where Han and Leia oughta be waiting." Wedge quickly carried the probably unconscious Luke on his arms while the rest got back on their Speeders.

Ezra looked guiltily at the frozen face of Luke. "You think he'll be fine?"

Wedge shrugged. "The guy blew up two death stars and took down the emperor. I'm sure he can handle a little prank."

* * *

Luke was dizzy. The last thing her remembered was tracking down that Bounty hunter into a dark cave. Then he had fallen unconscious. At least, that's what he remembered. He did have a strange hallucination of an unmasked Mandalorian spinning a lightsaber at him, although he wasn't sure if he was bisected or not. Next to his bed were the Rogues, and a youn-

Luke quickly summoned his lightsaber through the force faster than the eye could see, and ignited it. Emerald energy quickly erupted, and the Mandalorian's eyes went wide when the light hovered dangerously close to his neck.

Two blasters clicked behind him.

"Listen, buddy. If even a single hair on my friend's neck is singed, I'll make sure you'll regret it for the rest of your life." A young woman stood behind him, painted blasters aimed straight at his back. None of the rogues had stirred a muscle. All of them were unarmed, Luke realized in desperation. Luke had heard that Wedge was captured, but not all the Rogues! Who were these people?!

Suddenly, the door slammed open. Han Solo, hearing the sound of a lightsaber igniting, had kicked the door down and was swiftly drawing his blaster. Luke quickly jerked his head, dropping his guard for a moment. "Han! Shoot h-"

Unfortunately, Sabine was faster. Luke slumped to the floor again, Sabine's stun bolt quickly disabling him. The Rogues had decided to use their first breaths since the standoff to attempt to stifle their laughter at the ridiculous way the situation had escalated. Ezra himself had turned the same color as Luke's bedsheets.

"Hey, coulda've warned me, eh? Pretty sure you didn't need to shoot the kid." Han had walked into the middle of the room and was checking Luke's pulse.

"Well, Excuse me for being a little protective of the man I've spent years chasing after, literally!"

"You're excused. Now, are ya gonna help me fix up Luke here or are are ya gonna make out with your Boyfriend?" Han was now trying to put Luke into a sitting position on the bed, to little success.

Sabine blushed a little bit. "He's not my Boyfriend!"

"Well, could'ave fooled me, the way you've been protecting Ezra! Wes, lend me a hand here, the kid's slippin'!" Wes quickly grabbed Luke's other shoulder and lifted Luke up like the world's clumsiest mannequin. Sabine had stalked off in a huff, while Ezra had turned from pale-white to bright red. Luke had been sat down in what was possibly the galaxy's most uncomfortable sitting position, with the combined efforts of an annoyed Han and an extremely amused Wes. After that incident, Ezra had carefully taken Luke's saber and hid it in his own room, before returning to wait for Luke to revitalize (again).

* * *

"Heya, kid. Ya ok?" Luke had groaned heavily when he woke up, before massaging his back. Where was he?

"Uh, don't panic. We're in the house of a friend. A friend who ain't a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter, despite what a certain group of jokers may 'ave told ya." The rogues smiled apologetically, before breaking into outrageous laughter. Luke glared at them, before laying his eyes on a pair of teenagers sitting closely together in the corner of the room. The blue haired one seemed somewhat on edge, while the purple haired one seemed more interested in glaring daggers at Han. Reaching out with the force, Luke sensed a great deal of attachment between the two. But... he also felt something else. A well of power from the boy. Maybe he could train the boy like Ben trained him?

Han cleared his throat. "Yeah, suppose I'd better introduce ya to the two. On the left's Sabine Wren, Mandalorian Princess, currently may or may not be datin' the kid on the right." Sabine's eyes became even angrier. Luke wasn't sure how that was possible. "Sorry Luke, no royal romances for ya. On the right's Ezra Bridger, one of the last Jedi left. S'pose you two might get along, if you'd stop tryin' to decapitate him." Han shrugged.

Luke, for the second time today, felt his mouth fall open.


End file.
